The Dallas Mavericks fundamentally altered the direction of their franchise in the 2018 Draft when they gave up their No. 5 pick and a 2019 draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks to draft Luka Doncic with the No. 3 pick. The Hawks took Trae Young with the pick they received, making this one of the most historic draft day trades in history.
Mavs’ owner Mark Cuban reflected on how the trade was agreed upon.
“Our scouts liked him, our analytics guys loved him. Our numbers guys were like this is the only superstar in the class. For the trade, we tried and tried, and it was like 15 minutes to go before our pick. I called the owner of Atlanta. ‘You’re not picking Luka and you know the guy you want. Let’s just do this deal because he’ll be there for you. We’ll give you a pick. Instead of the General Managers messing around, let’s get it done.’ And we got it done.”
Even though many people resist saying Doncic is better than Young, the accolades and achievements so far in their careers lean towards Luka. Even with their identical playoff record of three total appearances, with two first-round exits and one Conference Finals run, Doncic’s consistency over the season and status as a playoff riser makes people value him over Trae.
Even this season, Doncic is averaging 30.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 8.1 assists on 50.0% from the field and 42.2% from three. Young, on the other hand, is averaging 23.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 11.1 assists on 35.6% from the field and 28.2% from three.
With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander now emerging as one of the best guards in the 2018 Draft Class along with Jalen Brunson, it’ll be interesting to see how all four of them rank all-time when their careers are over.
Trae Young Opened Up On Being Overshadowed By Luka Doncic
Trae Young has spent a career battling comparisons with Doncic, but not being able to match him in accolades. Doncic has made the All-NBA First Team every season since their sophomore year in the NBA, while Young has made just one All-NBA Team, a Third Team appearance in 2022.
Young got real on the comparisons to Doncic and how he hopes his on-court performances make his argument for him.
“I don’t let that bother me. Cause once I win it all, all that stuff will be shown and talked about. All the stuff I’ve done in previous seasons, that’s not going anywhere. If I win a championship, maybe people will start bringing up some of the things that happened in the past. I don’t necessarily worry about that. I am concerned with this season and how I can help my team win this season.”
There isn’t a lot separating the pair except Doncic’s size makes him amenable to better rebounding statistics. Even though both are bad defenders, Young looks unplayable on the defensive end at times while Doncic has taken a leap this season, especially excelling as a post defender, something Trae just cannot do.
They’re still 24 years old and have other elite guards from this class rising into competition with them. It’s too early to rule anybody out or say one is decidedly better than the other, so it’ll be interesting to see how their careers play out.
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